Swaraat / Swaraat Editors Desk
In a singing competition, a young girl—chosen randomly through a lucky draw and ushered onto the stage by one of the judges—stunned everyone with her extraordinary singing talent. Years later, the same girl walked onto the podium at Bharat Mandapam to receive the Cultural Ambassador award from the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi.
She hails from the historic land of Mithila, the ancient kingdom ruled by King Janaka, father of Sita Mata. Maithili is another name for Rama’s consort and the local dialect named after her. Bearing the name of this very language, 25-year-old Gen Z leader Maithili became the youngest MLA in the history of independent India. In the 2025 Bihar assembly elections, the NDA swept to a massive victory, winning 203 out of 243 seats. With the alliance now in power, there is hope that the poll promise of renaming Alinagar to Sitanagar will soon be fulfilled by none other than the young MLA.
BJP, especially Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and Home Minister Mr. Amit Shah, has the knack of backing dark horses in elections. They fielded Ms. Shagun Parikar in the Jammu and Kashmir elections. She and her family members are the victims of violence in Kashmir, and she won the election in style. Similarly, BJP fielded Maithili in the Bihar elections and Home Minister Mr. Amit Shah himself campaigned in Ms. Thakur’s constituency Alinagar and he said ‘Mithila ki Beti, Mithila ki sammaan’. Her popularity, gained through singing bhajans, provided the crucial X-factor that helped her win the seat and add one more to the NDA’s tally.
Born in the era of Lalu’s Lanka during the ‘jungle raj’—when his men rampaged the state, pilfered resources and treated women as commodities, families fled the state for safety, Hindus dropped their surnames fearing attack, and gun-toting Naxals roamed freely—Ms. Thakur’s father taught her music. With her siblings, she stormed social media after becoming a runner-up in a reality show.
Maturity comes from experience more than age, and it can be nurtured through Sanatani values too. While responding to a question on her electoral rival Shri Binod Mishra, Maithili gave a humble reply: “He is a senior politician with a lot of experience and, being elder, he is like my uncle.” She thanked both the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister for her victory.
A video of Ms. Thakur singing a Tamil song went viral after her electoral victory. Likewise, may her success inspire many Gen Z youngsters to consider politics as a profession.